pluckaduck's manga / #adventure(66)

it's entertaining and the art is nice, but like so many other manhwas, it suffers from a lack of depth and intricacy- like the concepts of magic, skill, and alchemy: what are the core differences that make combining two cause "estrangements" and "unnecessities"? the concept of "ignition" which is a combination of science and magic is barely explained and then suddenly mc is able to use it... fr looks like an asspull. even if we the readers vaguely get it, u really have to clearly explain the limitations so that whatever u come up with doesn't look like an ass-pull. anyway, im also astonished and disappointed that despite being 4th in ranking the magician is not as smart as i thought. it's the typical case of making mc seem like a genius by making everyone else an idiot (but it's not like he's that smart either). for example, the concept of reverting objects back to their original form is not really that original, so i imagine that anyone who is an alchemist saw that would understand vaguely his power at least. and he also said that if he uses "magic" uses up less mana instead of "skill", but isn't "alchemy" a category of "skill"? can u just create skills (like what mc did)? why does everybody assume a player can only use one concept? like no one has any creativity...

the plot is solid and has a good amount of depth, it's kinda slow-paced, and there's not that much action, but the developments are interesting the worldbuilding isn't that unique (but it's written in 2013, so hey, it was prob one of the unique ones then) but it's fairly interesting with the lessa/ra conflict, and the charas are great. the art is really nice too. also, i love lessa- he's so unintentionally adorable and pretty

it's really a fantastic webtoon, beyond its time. m/f charas r well written, fleshed out. the world is even more expanded in this season, explaining more in-depth /referencing some details in the previous season. the art is so great, but some scenes are just breathtaking. also that epilogue, that plot twist about raynold's dad is chef's kiss.

ch 53. kinda like ajin's reconstructive ability... cool ch 152. wheres the rest of the chapters?? out of all the dead side charas, i feel that the blind sword demon had the most potential to be interesting?? i already read the ember knight and it's one of the best ongoing manhwas rn. and this prequel did not disappoint. you can practically see the artist's improvement in the art and action sequence and use of paneling. and props to the author for creating a epic prologue for his next series. the writing, characterization for multiple charas, and action scenes are all so good. and i found the romance between stella and mc to be endearing and bittersweet. the magic and knight system is well-established, making it a cut above similar generic high fantasy series. also loved how the author weaved the world's historical events and mc's past together in a non-linear but entertaining way. this is how immortal/long-lived mc stories are done right.

reminds me of magus of the library, another phenomenal manga with similar vibes.

the author mustve been high when they wrote this. it's so unpredictable, and off the rails with the amount of batshit crazy charas. i truly laughed a few times bc of how out-of-pocket some stuff were. the art carried for sure, but the writing shines thru.

it's underrated. it's entertaining, the banter and dynamics are hilarious, and the friendships are wholesome. all the charas have personalities and quirks, and the mc takes a back seat after his arc to focus on other charas. it's not a power fantasy in the slightest, and the author makes it clear that it's a just game with how lighthearted everything is, and how we don't actually know anything about the charas outside of it (save a couple charas) bc the story takes place only in the game. the author also plays with our expectations by framing the backstories in a certain dark way, then completely subverts them by shedding more information. well done author. also i love how antagonists are written, they arent necessarily demonized for trauma and mc to beat, but just players playing the game, as the author empathizes. but treating everything so lighthearted is selfish as it backfires on relationships built within. which is the main theme btw. finally, the plot: it is not much. it's very much character-driven. the quests/lore take the backseat. but i didn't read it for plot so whatever. also, id love to see more of isley and raiquia interacting.

ch7. girl that is why u should wear clothes. it's so ridiculous why she still not wearing any actual clothes; she's practically naked; it's so stupid, especially in a battle with a sword wielder who can materialize invisible sword ki, not to mention superior to u in skill so why on earth is she still not wearing clothes?? edit: the ending was satisfying and bittersweet. it was a bit hard to get into in the beginning bc it felt somewhat directionless with the mc's motivations, but the plot after the backstory reveal accelerated and i binged the entire series. the story's very intense and thrilling and the art's phenomenal. the mc's a well-written edgy loner character. and the other charas are well-written morally gray charas as well (ie the ki swordsman, and hong gildong's bandit group). ill say the most glaring flaw would be the sando's scantily dressed self; it's just pure fanservice.

honestly i was skeptical about the rating thru out most of the story, but in the end, i find that it's well-deserved. i love how lita is not reduced to simply being "bota's sister" but is actually very central to the plot; i love her and her relationship with bota and she is a great character. i love kana as well, she's a really good character by herself; but the fanservice in the beginning turned me off ngl, tho it does tone down as the story progress. the only other flaws that i can think of is the teasing of sonia and bota when they met; sonia seemed romantically interested in him, and there was even a CPR scene portrayed in a way that raised romantic flags; after which bota even blushed a lot. but that's about it. i think the author probably changed their mind and rewrote sonia as just a crew member instead of a potential romantic interest. and, i like her relationship with brune a lot; their deaths actually made me emotional. clark's characterization also seemed to have changed after the first meeting. at first, he screamed crazy psychopath with the scary faces and arrogance. he seemed like another version of that harpoonist antagonist who cared more about killing kana/bota than humanity's survival, but then he changed subtly. his arrogance and villainization toned down. also, the romantic subplot about kana/bota? there was buildup, such as the implication of bota liking kana, the kiss, but the author did nothing with it?